Halloween Special
by Timelord.Saxon
Summary: The countdown to Halloween is on. The team are landed with a terrifying new case. This case will test their beliefs in the supernatural.
1. Chapter 1

_(No copyright infringement intended. The Blair Witch is a story but for the purposes of this fic it will be more than just a legend.)_

"_In recent news a group of five kids have been reported missing in the town of Burkittesville, Maryland. These teens were said to be camping in the woods north of the city. Word from our sources inside the police department tell us that the teens were following the trail of the famed Blair Witch. Many have heard tell of the three teens, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard, in October 1994. The names of the teenagers are Elizabeth Wheeler, Mary Shelton, Zachary Davis, Ken Nordquist, and Corey Butler. The search remains on going for these teens."_

_-The latest news report-_

"Come on, it will be something fun to do this Halloween. It's no fun to just go trick or treating with all the little kids." Elizabeth said. Mary, Zachary, Ken, Corey and her were all sitting in her kitchen. They had been sitting there for a few hours trying to come up with something special to do for Halloween. Ken took a sip of his beer, while shaking his head.

"You've heard all of the stories." Ken said. Elizabeth gave him a pleading look. Elizabeth had suggested that they go camping in the woods, where the Blair Witch is said to haunt. There were plenty of stories circulating about what people say they have experienced. Ken looked very scared just by the idea of camping in those woods. There were stories that their parents had told them to stop them from wandering in the woods and they had stuck more in his mind than others. Mary threw a Marshmallow at Ken, then stuffed an entire on in her mouth.

Finally they were all in agreement about going camping in the woods, though Ken was still nervous about it. They loaded up all their gear and drove up to the woods. They parked and started set themselves up to hike into the woods. "This is so exciting." Mary said. Zachary put his arm around her.

"This is totally awesome." Zachary said. "Maybe we will actually see the Blair Witch." He pretended to be a ghost and leaned over Mary. She pushed him away, laughing. Elizabeth held up a camcorder up and turned it on.

"Come on guys. Group shot." Elizabeth said. They all crowded together and Elizabeth took a video of them. "Day one. The start of our adventure." She closed the camcorder and they set off into the woods.

Halloween was Reid's favorite holiday. He knew all the history behind it and always did something every year. This year Jenny had gone shopping with him to get decorations for Halloween. It was the first time that he had someone to come with him, he was secretly happy that she had offered to come with him. They had just finished shopping and Reid was telling Jenny all about the traditional Druid rituals around All Hallows Eve while Jenny drove them back to Quantico.

"Reid. Slow down. You haven't stopped talking for at least 20 minutes." Jenny said laughing. "We are here now. You can show Morgan the little things that we got for everyone's desk." Reid quietened, and went slightly pink. He was aware that he had a tendency to talk a lot. It was a habit that he was trying to break and not really succeeding. He was quiet until Jenny pulled into a parking space. "Come on Reid, I'm teasing." Jenny said, noting his silence. Reid gave her a smiled and climbed out of the car. They picked up the bag of stuff they had bought and anything else they needed then headed up to the unit.

There bull pen was quiet and they wondered where the rest of the team was. Prentiss came out of the conference room. "Hey guys." She said. They understood, there was a case. Jenny handed the shopping to Reid to place on his desk. Then they took their seats in the conference room. Garcia had a series of school photos up on the screen.

"Okay. So this group of 5 teens went camping the night before last and they didn't return. The local police have searched the immediate area but there is no sign." Garcia said.

"Yeah. I think I saw something about it on the news." Jenny said. When she and Reid had gone shopping there was a television that was showing the news. There hadn't been any volume though.

"They were supposed to be going after the Blair Witch, which has caused a media sensation so there is a lot of pressure to find theses kids. Wheels up in 30." Hotch instructed.


	2. Chapter 2

**((So it looks like this might be finished sometime after Halloween but I will try my best to finish it by then.))**

Burkettsville wasn't that far away so they were not on the plane for a long time. But they did have enough time to discuss the facts of the case. There wasn't that much to go on since the kids had only been missing one night. "So what do we have?" Hotch started in his usual business-like tone.

"We have 5 missing teens who were last seen going camping. There is no evidence to suggest they went unwillingly or have come to any kind of harm. It doesn't seem to me like there is much of a case." Jenny responded. Prentiss was right there with her.

"Jenny is right. We have no evidence of foul play. A bunch of teens, they probably went camping and had a bit too much to drink." Prentiss said.

"It isn't necessarily how they disappeared but where." Rossi countered. "I am sure you are all well aware of the legend surrounding Burkettsville and the surrounding woodland?"

"The Blair Witch. I've hear some of the theories surrounding the three missing kids, Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard" JJ said. "Pretty gruesome stuff."

"Yes. Dave and I have seen some of the footage recovered." Hotch said. He gave Rossi a sideways glance.

"Terrifying stuff." Rossi said, shaking his head.

"It's considered a research project that went horribly wrong." Reid said. They could all tell he was about to tell them the story and so remained quiet. "The three teens were following the instructions from the various local that they had interviewed and so never really had a clear idea of where they were going. It then resulted in them losing the map and were wandering around in the woods.

"They had a number of 'supernatural' encounters during the days that they were camping. Stick men handing from the trees, noises in the night, and bags of ritualistic items around the tents." Jenny added, remembering what she had read online.

"So we think that it is the same 'thing' that happened before?" Prentiss asked generally.

"It seems like a safe assumption. The circumstances are similar as well as the ages of the victims." Morgan said.

"Since the history of the town is so well known the press with try and sensationalize the case. We are leaving now so that we can get a handle on the press before they start speculating." Hotch said. It was true. Once the national news stations got wind of the story people would converge on Burkettsville, making their job near impossible. No one said it but they were all thinking it. How many people already knew?

They arrived at the station a short while later. There were already reporters waiting outside eager for a scoop. They were bombarded by reporters shouting questions as soon as they stepped out of the SUVs. 'Why have the FBI been called in?', 'Any knew on the missing teens?', 'Are there any links between this disappearance and the previous one?' They stuck to the 'No comment' routine and pushed their way through the gathering crowd. It wasn't much calmer inside the police station. Phones were constantly ringing and officers were shouting to each other to try to be heard over the phones. Each one getting louder than the last. Panic had set in.

The lead detective spotted them and walked over. "You must be the FBI guys. Boy and I glad to see you. I got my hands full with this one and not enough available officers." he said, clearly annoyed and out of breath. "Name's Sheriff Thomas. If you would like to follow me and we can gt you caught up." he said. He turned away and led them to the conference room, which was the command centre of the investigation. "Right. Here you are. If you need anything else ask one of the officers and they will get it for you." Sheriff Thomas said.

"Thank you Sheriff. We will get started right away." Hotchner said. The Sheriff nodded his head then went to rejoin the chaos. "Alright team our first priority is to create a time line of their last movements. The main problem we have is that we don't know where to begin the search." Hotch instructed. They team took the seats around the conference table that was situated in the middle of the room.

"Okay well lets start with the day before they disappeared, the 29th. It might be that they deviated from a normal routine or went somewhere out of their comfort zones." Morgan said.

"The local PD spoke to the school which noted no unusual behaviour that Friday. They went to school and attended all of their lessons." Jenny said.

"Their friends from the various groups told the police that they were talking a lot to each other about their plans for the weekend." JJ said.

"So the camping trip was planned, and not a spur of the moment decision. What does that tell us?" Rossi said, always teaching.

"They were probably discussing it at least a week in advance so that they would have time to gather everything that they would need." Reid said.

"This day and age they probably communicated the plans through text messaging or email." Prentiss concluded. "Did the police seize their computers?" They all looked around at each other hoping the other had the answer.

"I will go and ask one of the officers." Jenny said. She felt that she should since she was still the new guys. She left to go and find an officer.

"Why would they decide to go camping this weekend?" Prentiss asked aloud.

"The thrill. The legend talks of some invisible witch with supernatural powers. Halloween is traditionally the day when the supernatural is at it's strongest. So going out to the 'hunting' ground of the Blair Witch would be like the ultimate thrill. Statistically tomorrow night has the highest probability of having an experience with the supernatural." Reid said. They all looked at him, and Morgan gave him a teasing grin.

"Of course you would know that kid." Morgan teased. Reid looked down at his hands, slightly embarrassed, wishing slightly that Jenny was there to make him feel better. As if responding to his thought Jenny reappeared carrying 5 laptop sized boxes. The police had picked up the laptops.

"All of the teens had laptops but the tech guys didn't have enough time to process them yet. However we were given complete access." Jenny said. She laid out all the boxes carefully on the table. Morgan took out his phone and dialed Garcia.

"You have reached the Oracle of Quantico. Keeper of all knowledge. Speak and be heard." Garcia answered in her usual cheery way.

"Hey baby girl." Morgan answered. The other were quickly unpacking and turning on the laptops. They were all password locked. "I need you to work me some magic."

"Your wish is my command. What do you need?" Garcia said.

"I got 5 password protected laptops here. Can you get us access?" Morgan asked.

"Easy." Garcia said. Morgan could hear the sound of her lightening fast typing on the line. Rossi, Hotch, JJ and Prentiss each had a laptop while Reid and Jenny shared one. They all watched as Garcia accessed each of the computers. "Okay my children. You have access to the computers and be careful of the witch. Over and Out." Garcia said, hanging up before Morgan had a chance to speak. There was a kind of silence in the room for a few moments, except the clicking of keys. Jenny first accessed Elizabeth's email.

"It looks as though there was a group email communication that was started on the 20th by Elizabeth." Jenny said. She allowed Reid to scan through it since he would probably, most likely finished before her.

"This email is the earliest but it sounds as though they had already thought of the idea and are just planning more in depth." Reid said.

"It seems a bit too early to be planning something like this and not to have told anyone." Prentiss said.

"The emails themselves seem incomplete and not fully explained. It is most likely that they would be verbally discussing it or through the use of mobile phones." Reid explained.

"The officer was telling me that none of their mobile phones were found at their homes so they must be with them." Jenny said.

"If they most likely have their phones then why can we not get in contact with them?" JJ asked.

"They might be out of the service area, not charged, or simply switched off." Hotch said. "Elizabeth seems to be the ringleader of the camping idea so we will find more useful information on her computer. Jenny and Reid, see if you can figure out where they were heading. JJ, you and I will gather up the press. We will hold a press conference so that they will not spread speculation." Hotch instructed. He followed JJ out of the conference room.

"Rossi, Prentiss and I will go help the officers deal with the phones." Morgan said. Rossi nodded and they left the room. Jenny turned to face Reid.

"I will sort through her email and computer history. You see what you can find about the original case." Jenny suggested. Reid knew as well as her that it was the most logical course of action. Jenny took his silence as a yes and began to read the later emails. Reid took out his phone and speed dialed Garcia.

"Speck to me boy wonder." Garcia answered. Reid smiled, he enjoyed the way Garcia greeted them in different ways.

"Hey Garcia. Can you a run a search for disappearances in Burkettsville and surrounding cities since 1994?" Reid asked. He could just imagine the frustration on Garcia's face as he asked.

"Of course boy wonder. Call when I have something." Garcia ended the call with a click. Reid placed his phone on the table, knowing that she would be calling again very soon.

"Okay So it is looking like we were right and this was some sort of plan to have a Blair Witch encounter. Why, I have no idea. I thought that the Blair Witch was just a myth. I knew some teens went missing but I also know that it was just speculation." Jenny said. She leaned back in her chair and looked past Reid.

"All it takes is one person to create the name. In reality the legend started before the disappearance of those three kids. They had gone into the woods creating a documentary about the witch." Reid said.

"So does anyone remember the actual legend or stories?" Jenny asked. Reid shrugged his shoulder. Jenny continued to scroll through later emails. "Hey this may be something." Jenny said. Reid sat forward. "They don't specifically say it but they talk a lot about that case and how cool it would be to 'follow in their footsteps', what do you think they meant?"

"It sounds to me like they were going to following along the same path through the woods that the three missing kids took." Reid said. He moved closer to Jenny so that he could also see the computer screen. Jenny brought up the internet history and they scrolled slowly through the most recent activity.

"Looks like they did their research. The history for about the past week is all about the Blair Witch and the legend surrounding her." Jenny stated. Reid mentally stored what she had said but he didn't really register what she had said. He focused his mind on the content of each of the web pages that appeared in the history. Then he found what he was looking for.

"Wait! Click on that one." Reid said, pointing to a link. Jenny silently obeyed. "It's a map. But the looks of it, it is probably the original one."

"Well at least we know where they were planning to go. That's a start. We need to tell Hotch." Jenny said. She got up and walked over to the side of the press conference as discretely as she could. She gave JJ a meaningful glance. JJ understood, and she whispered something quietly to Hotch, who ended the press conference after he glanced at her. Jenny waited inside for Hotch and JJ.

"What have you got?" Hotch asked.

"A map. Elizabeth managed to find the original map that was used in the first case." Jenny said.

"Show me." Hotch said. Jenny nodded and led them back to the conference room where Reid was still studying the screen.

"It must be the map that they lost. Form the video evidence of that case, the missing map was a reason why they couldn't find their way home." Hotch said.

"Now that we have the map shouldn't we be able to locate them. Send in rescue teams." JJ said. Hotch straightened up, his eyes still transfixed on the screen.

"No that will draw too much attention and that is that last thing we need." Hotch responded. "Go get Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi." JJ did as he instructed and returned moments later with the rest of the team.

"What's up Hotch?" Morgan asked.

"Looks like we are going camping." Hotch said. The team looked at him, shocked.


	3. Chapter 3

**((Yeah definitely going to be finished after Halloween. Oh well.))**

"What ho you mean we are going camping?" Jenny asked, confused. She was only voicing what one would assume the other were thinking.

"If we send rescue teams then the press will be sure to follow. The only way to keep the situation under control is that we are the ones that are looking." Hotch said, his voice highlighting his feelings about it. He was about as thrilled as the rest of them.

"There is still a few hours of daylight left. So if we make good time we may not have to camp." Morgan said, though it was a long shot.

"We would have to leave immediately and we don't have the proper equipment." Prentiss said.

"The sheriff can arrange for something. This is not up for discussion. We leave in 10 minutes." Hot said. His word was final. There was a new sense of unrest in the group. They had all felt comfortable within the walls of the station. They didn't have to admit that a tiny part of then believed in the witch. Now they would be confronted with that fear. Testing how strong a hold that fear had on them. Hotch and Rossi went to find the sheriff to see about getting supplies.

"Does anyone else not like the sound of this plan?" Jenny asked. They all remained silent, none daring to speak. No answer had been expected.

The Sheriff had managed to acquire them enough camping gear, and had kindly managed to get a couple unmarked police cars to drive them to where the teens had last been seen. Which was indicated on the map they had printed. They all stood together and looked at the woods. "So we are going to follow the map unless there is evidence to indicate that they went somewhere else." Hotch said.

"Make sure to always have someone in your sight. We don't need to be getting lost as well." Morgan said. Jenny handed each of them a copy of the map.

"We each are getting a copy of the map so that if we do get split up we will be able to make our way back." Jenny said. "We all have GPS locators, but there have been reports that GPS doesn't work, so it is not to be relied upon." Jenny informed them. They all took the copy of the map and placed it somewhere on their person.

"Let's go before we lose any more daylight." Morgan said. With that he led the way into the dense trees. They were engulfed in an array of different colour leaves, changing with the seasons. They way was quiet, only the sounds of the dry, dead leaves crunching beneath their feet and the howling of the wind. There wasn't even the sounds of bird calls, or any other living creatures besides them. That alone was enough to put anyone on edge, without the legend of the Blair Witch hanging over them. Some of the trees were like towering skeletons, completely bare of leaves. There was no clear path ahead, just the unknown skeleton forest.

They walked in a straight line, intentionally or not. They set a good pace but were reluctant to rush into the 'witch's hunting ground'. The tension surrounding them was suffocating. They jumped at every little noise. Every leaf tumbling to the ground. The almost noiseless landing echoing like a gunshot. They faced the darkest of humanity every day. Treacherous acts that no one would even think about doing. But those had all be a clear physical threat. A person. But not now. Now they were facing an invisible force that they weren't even convinced existed. It was the worst kind of fear. Fear that is perfectly psychological.

No one spoke, not wanting to awaken whatever lurked in the silence. The light around them was turning a shade of orange. Sunset. There wasn't much daylight left. Then it would be darkness. No lights from the city to provide a constant glow. Pure darkness. The cover of night. Shielding what was before them from their eyes. They all willed the sun to remain the sky that much longer. But down it went, continuing it's mournful journey. As the sun sank, the shadows of the trees grew longer, making the team comparable to the size of ants. Morgan had his map out before him, tracking their course. Prentiss and JJ had fallen into step behind him, followed by Reid and Jenny with Hotch and Rossi bringing up the rear.

"You know, Garcia said there was more than a dozen disappearances in these woods since 1994. Most have been written off as hiking accidents. No evidence was ever found though." Reid whispered to Jenny. JJ and Prentiss turned to glare at him. Jenny patted his shoulder.

"Probably not the best thing to say Spence." Jenny said. They were all nervous and it didn't help with Reid rattling off those kinds of facts. "I will say this wasn't how I imagined spending my weekend." Jenny said, trying in vain to talk about something other than the Blair Witch.

"What would you have been doing then?" Prentiss asked, catching on.

"Well I would be curled up in my comfortable apartment with a cup of hot chocolate and popcorn. And George of course." Jenny responded. Imagining herself doing that made her feel less anxious. With that happy thought the sun finally vanished from the sky and they were surrounded by the unforgiving darkness. Morgan was quick to the draw and was the first to switch on his torch.

"We should make camp here. There is not much we can do in the dark. We can use the remaining light and the torches as well." Morgan said. They didn't argue and quickly started to unpack the tents. There was a tent for the girls, JJ, Prentiss, and Jenny, as well as a separate one for Morgan, Hotch, Rossi and Reid. The noise from their work penetrated the darkness. If their presence had be unknown before well anything would definitely know now. They made quick work of hitching the large tents. No one wanted to continue alerting anything to their presence.

They gathered some dry twigs and stick to create a fire. Once they had got a fire going they all saw around warming up their freezing fingers and toes. That day they had walked a great distance but there hadn't been any obvious signs of the missing teens. Any footprints thew would have left were by that time covered in leaves and no longer visible. But there had also been no signs of a camp, or any indication that the area had been disturbed. So in some respects it hadn't been a very good day, and not they were miles from anywhere with a witch.

"We will continue to follow the map tomorrow. Hopefully there will be signs of the teens." Hotch said.

"Or anything that would give us any idea of what is going on." JJ said. As the fire began to die each of them returned to their respected tents and settled in for a restless night.


End file.
